Robert Fagles facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Robert Fagles
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| Born | September 11, 1933 |
| Died | March 26, 2008 (aged 74) Princeton, New Jersey, U.S.
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| Education | Amherst College (BA) Yale University (MA, PhD) |
| Occupation | Professor at Princeton University; Poet |
| Spouse(s) |
Marilyn Duchovnay
(m. 1956) |
| Awards | National Humanities Medal |
Robert Fagles (born September 11, 1933 – died March 26, 2008) was an American writer, poet, and university professor. He was famous for translating old stories from Ancient Greece and Rome. His most well-known works are his translations of the epic poems by Homer, like The Iliad and The Odyssey. He also taught English and comparative literature for many years at Princeton University.
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Early Life and Education
Robert Fagles was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His father, Charles Fagles, was a lawyer, and his mother, Vera Voynow Fagles, was an architect. He went to Amherst College and earned his first degree in 1955. The next year, he received his master's degree from Yale University.
On June 17, 1956, he married Marilyn (Lynne) Duchovnay, who was a teacher. They adopted two children. In 1959, Fagles earned his Ph.D. in English from Yale. He then taught English there for a year.
Teaching Career at Princeton
In 1960, Robert Fagles began teaching English at Princeton University. He quickly moved up, becoming an assistant professor in 1962 and an associate professor in 1965. Later that same year, he became the director of the comparative literature program. This program studies literature from different countries and cultures.
By 1970, he became a full professor. From 1975, he led the department as its chair. He stopped teaching full-time in 2002 but remained a professor emeritus at Princeton. This means he was still connected to the university even after retiring.
Bringing Ancient Stories to Life
Between 1961 and 1996, Robert Fagles translated many important works from Ancient Greece and Rome. His first translation was of the poems by Bacchylides in 1961.
In the 1970s, Fagles started translating famous Greek plays. He began with Aeschylus's The Oresteia. He then translated Sophocles's three Theban plays in 1982.
His most famous translations are:
- Homer's The Iliad (published in 1990)
- Homer's The Odyssey (published in 1996)
- Virgil's The Aeneid (published in 2006)
For these last four books, a scholar named Bernard Knox wrote the introductions and notes. Fagles tried to make his translations sound natural in modern English. He wanted them to be easy to read while still being true to the original stories.
Fagles also wrote his own poetry. In 1978, he published a book called I, Vincent: Poems from the Pictures of Van Gogh. He also helped edit other books about literature.
Robert Fagles passed away at his home in Princeton, New Jersey, on March 26, 2008.
Awards and Recognition
Robert Fagles received many awards for his amazing translation work.
- In 1991, he won the Harold Morton Landon Translation Award for his translation of The Iliad.
- In 1996, he received an Academy Award in Literature for his translation of The Odyssey.
- In 1997, he was given the PEN/Ralph Manheim Medal for his lifetime achievements in translation.
He was also a member of important groups like the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He received a National Humanities Medal from the National Endowment for the Humanities. This medal is given to people who have made great contributions to the humanities.
In 2011, a special center for studying the Classics was named after Dr. Fagles at Princeton High School. Students and teachers honored him at the dedication.
Major Translations
- Bacchylides, Complete Poems (1961)
- Aeschylus, The Oresteia (1975)
- Sophocles, The Three Theban Plays (1982)
- Antigone
- Oedipus the King
- Oedipus at Colonus
- Homer, The Iliad (1990)
- Homer, The Odyssey (1996)
- Virgil, The Aeneid (2006)
See also
